About Cecelia . . . Cecelia has an undergraduate degree in Home Economics from the Universtiy of Northern Iowa. Her introduction to jackets and the world of tailoring began while she was teaching secondary school in northern Iowa. A summer tailoring course at the University of Washington in Seattle introduced her to the intricacies of manipulating wool fabrics using hand stitches and proper pressing technques. She learned to produce beautiful, professional jackets and passed this information on to her students. After completing a masters degree in Clothing, Textiles, and Merchandising at the University of Oklahoma, she moved to Canada to teach at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Not only did her students "tailor" a jacket but they also designed their own patterns. She subsequently moved to the west coast where she was co-owner of a fabric shop for 12 years. Her teaching of tailoring principles continued at the University of British Columbia. In the early eighties she began to realize that jacket construction was changing. Fusible interfacings were widely used by industry and machine stitching was replacing hand stitching. Her focus with her students shifted to "contemporary tailoring" with the use of traditional principles of shaping a garment. Today her jackets mirror industry standards in their use of lighter and softer materials and techniques. Once her fabric shop was sold, she became involved in exhibiting and teaching at the consumer sewing shows across the US and Canada. It was during one of these shows that the Threads editor asked her to write about jackets. Her first article was on sewing an easy cardigan jacket and was so well received that she was asked to write the Threads book, Easy Guide to Sewing Jackets. With the success of her jacket book, Cecelia responded to fashion sewers requests for a good-fitting jacket pattern by producing her Fearless Cardigan Jacket. This pattern was intended to fit like ready-to-wear with more ease than commercial patterns in the bust, waist and hip areas. She has since gone on to produce other patterns including jackets, pants, shirt, skirt, and dress. She has been a contributing author to Threads, Sew News, Vogue, and Stitches magazines. Her husband, Peter, accompanies her to the sewing shows when he can, where he "mans" the exhibit booth. He is a visual merchandiser in his real job specializing in high end ladies fashion. Magazine Articles THREADS MAGAZINE Contemporary Tailoring: Construct a Classic Cardigan Jacket Completely By Machine Threads, No. 37, Oct./Nov. 1991, pp. 36-41 Jacket Lining Made Easy: Sew and Insert it Completely Threads, No. 39, Feb./March 1992, pp. 62-64 Shaping with Pleats: You Don"t Need a Pattern to Make a Skirt That Fits Threads, No. 43, Oct./Nov. 1992, pp. 37-41 Sewing the Perfect All-Weather Raincoat: Ready-To-Wear Details Add Polish and Versatility. Threads, No. 46, April/May 1993, pp. 33-35 Ironing Systems: Home Sewers Now Have Access to Industrial-Quality Irons - Here"s What They Do, How They Do It, And Why We Want Them. Threads, No. 105, Feb./March 2003, pp. 35-40 (See Also the Cover Wrap for this Issue - Tips for Better Pressing) SEW NEWS MAGAZINE Tailoring Defined Sew News, September 2004, pp. 48+ Press It Right Sew News, January 2005 VOGUE PATTERN MAGAZINE Upgrade Your Sewing: How to Give Your Garments Some Professional Polish Vogue Patterns, August/September 2005, pp. 22+ AUSTRALIAN STITCHES Great Tips for Sewing Fabulous Clothes: Cecelia Podolak. Australian Stitches, Vol. 14, No. 1, 2006, pp. 44-47 Which Pattern's Which: Cecelia Podolak, "The Classics". Susan Neall. Australian Stitches, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2005, pp. 44-47 (View Article)